Husqvarna wanted increased focus on their garden products, headlined by their robotic lawn mower Husqvarna Automower (henceforth, HA).

To make the inherently boring prospect of cutting grass fun, we chose to focus on humour, and launched Norway’s laziest summer job: a lawn watcher. Advertising the job online attracted immediate and widespread media coverage, and the successful applicant secured further national and international media attention as she reclined on a deck chair, making sure the HA did its job in Oslo’s parks.

The attention created by the job ad was unprecedented; it quickly became Norway’s most read ad ever; it spread like wildfire on Facebook; and it became the most shared and read Twitter link in Norway for 3 consecutive days. Husqvarna’s webpages saw a 760% increase in visitors during the campaign, most of them clicking after reading the campaign website.

The number of international visitors also increased, and Husqvarna’s largest market, Germany, are likely to repeat the campaign next year. The story was covered in some 65 national and international media stories.

The job ad appeared on Finn.no, Norway’s main classifieds site, on the 20th June. The next day some 10 different media companies contacted us, and after that the plan more or less executed itself.

By the time the ad was taken down 5 days later some 6,900 people had applied. Winner, Jeanette Juul Jensen from Nesodden near Oslo, became Norway’s first 'grass watcher' who worked 'hard' between 11am and 6pm from 8th July until 22nd July.

There was intense media interest in her lounging on a deck chair in various Oslo parks while the HA busily cut grass around her. Jeanette was due to continue until 5 August, but we agreed with Husqvarna to cut the campaign short because of the 22nd July terror attacks.

Husqvarna’s visibility as a producer of garden power tools immediately soared as the job ad became Norway’s most read ever, with 371,000 clicks in only 5 days.

The ad was shared 60,000 times on Facebook and became Norway’s most shared and read Twitter link.

Comprehensive coverage in both social and traditional media secured 6,900 job applicants, and despite the premature end to the campaign it was a resounding success.

HA sales in Norway more than doubled during 2011. Husqvarna’s websites saw a doubling of visitors during the summer months compared to last year, and a 760%increase in visitors during the campaign. 92% of the nearly 40,000 visitors to the campaign website migrated on to Husqvarna’s main site.

International visits also increased, including from the UK, the US, Germany and Spain. The campaign triggered 65 stories in national and international media. Husqvarna’s largest market, Germany, wants to repeat the campaign this summer.